The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for positioning food in a container. More particularly, the present invention relates to a noodle dragger having the ability to move in a multi-directional motion for positioning noodles in a desired area of the container.
Prepared foods that allow consumers to decrease the time and effort needed to prepare meals are popular with consumers. The prepared foods commonly include multiple components, such as meat, vegetable, pasta, rice, and sauce, that are packaged in a single container. It has been found that separately packaging the components during storage and heating enables the quality of prepared foods to be improved. With some prepared foods, the components are packaged in separate bags or in separate sections of a divided serving container. It is also common to place the food components in different areas of an undivided container. A benefit of the undivided serving container is that the undivided container enables the consumer to easily mix the food components after the prepared food is heated.
In commercial operations, prepared foods are typically packaged using an assembly line process. Containers are placed on a conveyor, then food components are sequentially deposited in the containers. Because of the rate at which containers move along the assembly line, it is typically more efficient to move the food component to a desired area of a container after the food component is deposited in the container rather than directly depositing the food component in the desired area of the container.
A prior art device for positioning food components includes a support arm and a paddle. With the prior art food positioning device, the paddle is fixedly attached to the support so that the paddle cannot pivot with respect to the support arm.
As the containers move along the assembly line, the prior art food positioning device pivots into a lowered position such that the paddle is in the containers. The food positioning device remains in the lowered position as the container is moved a desired distance along the assembly line. The food positioning device thereby causes the food component to be moved to the desired area of the container. Once the food components are moved to the desired area of the container, additional food components may be added to the container.